Po Nudo was a male Ualaq Aqualish politician, serving as the Senator of the Ando star system in the Senate of the Galactic Republic. During the Republic's Separatist Crisis, Nudo withdrew the planets he represented from the Republic and pledged allegiance to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Appointed as a member of the Separatist Council and head of the Hyper-Communications Cartel, Nudo and his fellow Councilors led the Confederacy to war in a conflict known as the Clone Wars. Following three years of bloody conflict with the Republic, Nudo and the rest of the Council was assassinated by Darth Vader on the planet Mustafar.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Clone Wars 2 Behind the scenes 3 Appearances 4 Sources 5 Notes and references 5.1 In other languages

BiographyEdit

A male Aqualish from the planet Ando, Po Nudo was appointed as the representative of the Ando system, travelling to Coruscant to represent his people as a member of the Galactic Republic Senate. During the last term of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, Nudo vocally opposed Chancellor Valorum's proposed taxation of the until then free trade zones. In addition to the proposal, Senator Palpatine of the Chommell sector suggested that a part of the collected money could be invested in the growth of planetary systems in the affected areas. While senators of that region supported the idea Nudo and other delegates, including Toonbuck Toora and Wat Tambor, were openly opposed to it.^[3]

The following year, Chancellor Valorum lost a Vote of No Confidence against his rule and was swiftly replaced by Palpatine him self. Despite the Human's popularity, Nudo became disillusioned with the Republic and became caught up in the secessionist movement sweeping the Senate. Along with Sy Myrthian Senator Toonbuck Toora, Nudo rendered his vote of secession to the Senate via droid proxy and swiftly departed the Galactic Core and headed for Ando.^[4] In 22 BBY, Nudo was invited to a clandestine meeting on the planet Geonosis where he was to meet with Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Attended by his aides of office, one of which was a Shi'ido changeling in disguise, Nudo was joined by various other secessionist leaders, and quickly threw support behind Dooku's Confederacy; together they declared war on the Republic and amassed the Separatist Droid Army.^[5]

Clone WarsEdit

As the Clone Wars erupted across the galaxy, Nudo was appointed as chairperson of the Hyper-Communications Cartel by Foreman Wat Tambor of the Techno Union and Chairman San Hill of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. As leader of the Confederacy's equivalent of the Republic's HoloNet, Nudo was given a seat on the Council which guided the Confederacy. As part of the cartel, Nudo funded the construction of the space station called Skytop Station deep in the Ruusan system. When the station was complete and fully operational, Nudo toured the facility with Count Dooku and Commander Asajj Ventress.^[6] Despite the security on the station, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Padawan Ahsoka Tano were able to infiltrate the facility with a contingent of clone troopers and eventually destroy the space station from the inside out.^[7]

As the war dragged on, Ando was gripped by civil war and Nudo was forced to follow the other Councilors around the galaxy in an effort to avoid capture under the protection of Supreme Commander Grievous. Joining the Council aboard the cyborg's flagship, the Invisible Hand, the leadership of the Confederacy was sent to the sinkhole world Utapau to await further instructions. Following Dooku's death over Coruscant at one of the most tumultuous battles of the war, Nudo was present with the other Councilors at the meeting during which Grievous ordered them to Mustafar, a mining planet on the Outer Rim where they were promised safety. Not long after departing Utapau, Grievous was killed by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Council took full control over the Confederacy.^[2]

As the Council arrived on Mustafar, they quickly settled into the dimly lit command center at the mountainside Klegger Corp mining facility. Nudo and the other Confederacy leaders were pressed into work at the facility's command center, supervising strategy and battle plans from their remote sanctuary. During their stay, the Council received a communications from the mysterious Darth Sidious, the Confederacy's shadowy benefactor. Sidious promised that the war was over and that the Republic had crumbled under the Separatist's war machine. Advising the Council to remain on the planet, Sidious assured them that he would send his apprentice, Darth Vader, to watch over them. Relieved by the news of victory, Nudo and the others anxiously awaited for Vader's arrival and their eventual departure from the inhospitable world. Upon Vader's landing, the Council and its aides gathered in the facility's main command center to greet Vader only to realize soon after he sealed off all of the exits to the facility that he was not there to protect them. Igniting his lightsaber, Vader savagely cut down the guards flanking the doorway before attacking the unarmed Councilors and their aides. Despite Nudo's protective breastplate, Vader's swift strikes with his lightsaber were enough to end the Aqualish's life.^[2] Soon after his death, the Hyper-Communications Cartel crumbled and disappeared.

Behind the scenesEdit

Po Nudo was portrayed by an uncredited background extra in both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones before Paul Nicholson was cast to portray his final scenes in Revenge of the Sith. Using an Aqualish mask with four eyes instead of the two eyes seen on members of the same species such as Ponda Baba, Nudo's species was retconned as a mutated subspecies of Aqualish called the Ualaq.

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
• Jedi Council: Acts of War 4
• Cloak of Deception
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (First appearance)
•  Ando, Sy Myrth Secede—HoloNet News Vol. 531 45
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones novel
• CIS Shadowfeed Dispatch 14:4:12 Edition (Mentioned only)
• Deep Forest
• "Outward Bound" (Mentioned only)
• CIS Shadowfeed Year's Start Fete Day Edition (Picture only)
• The Clone Wars: Prelude
• Reversal of Fortune
• Labyrinth of Evil
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic

SourcesEdit

• Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary
• Ultimate Alien Anthology
• Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary (Picture only)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II ("Nudo, Po")
•  Po Nudo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)

Notes and referencesEdit

Members of the Separatist Council
Leader Dooku · Grievous · Nute Gunray Council members Passel Argente · San Hill · Shu Mai · Po Nudo · Poggle the Lesser · Wat Tambor · Tikkes · Rogwa Wodrata Aides Sun Fac · Rute Gunnay · Rune Haako · Denaria Kee · Cat Miin
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